Loose ball python + foil tape = bad :(

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

So we had a few baby balls get loose a few weeks ago, tracked them all down but one. Searched high and low, took apart ductwork, emptied rooms and re-filled them, nothing. Put out food and heat and water, nothing. Apparently our temps and humidity have been high enough that he just keeps hiding

I am out of town for work until wednesday, and I just received a few messages from my wife. (I sleep during the day). Apparently she found the last snake, but it was attached to some foil tape (I had used a small piece to hold down my helix when the stickies failed, and apparently the foil tape had failed to hold down the t-stat and was popped up where he could get stuck on it.

She was able to gently remove the tape from his back, but there is a bunch stuck up on his neck and possibly on one eye. My question is, does anyone have experience with foil tape + snake, and what is the bset way to remove it? He has already lost some scales from thrashing about the previous night and I dont want that to happen when removing the rest of the tape.

Thanks

[xdeus]

Bummer... poor snake. As far as removing the adhesive, have you tried vegetable oil? I haven't personally tried it, but I have heard that it works pretty well with some tape adhesives.

I had used a small piece to hold down my helix when the stickies failed

Biting tongue... biting tongue...

[muddoc]

Bryan,
I do not have any experience with foil tape. However, many years ago, I had a garter snake that got some duck tape stuck to his head and neck. My best friends dad was a vet, and he recommended using mineral spirits to remove the tape. We got some mineral spirits and wet a cotton ball and wiped it onto the adhesive, and slowly removed the tape. It seemed to work well for me. I don't know about getting the mineral spirits to near the eye though, as I don't know if it would damage the eye or not.
Hope this helps,

[Adam_Wysocki]

Loose ball python, foil tape or not, is never "good" ....

Two things ....

1. To hold those Helixs down without them popping up, I add a couple of cut to fit Scotch 1"x1" Heavy Duty Mouting Squares to cover the plastic base in between the two strips that it comes with .... You can get them in Staples, Office Max, etc ... You'll thank me later.

2. For the snake, I would just cover the area where the glue is with neosporin until it sheds. With scales being pulled off I would be hesitant to use any type of chemical/soap to try and remove the glue and the snake should go into a shed pretty quick after this ... so the neosporin will keep the glue from sticking to the inside of the cage until the shed is complete.

-adam

[cueball]

I bet with the recent agitation that little guys sheds pretty soon. If it where me I would just do like Adam said and let it shed out. Poor lil fella! At least he is back in your controlled care

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

Ok I will go with the neosporin, he is already blued so he should shed soon.

Thanks guys.